We did it. We actually did The Artist’s Way!

We read all the words in all the chapters—with our eyes and ears. And now? 

It’s time to debrief!

In this post-lude season 1 finale, we’re pulling back the curtain and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to make a podcast while doing The Artist’s Way. Then we answer five burning questions (you know, so we can stay on track!)

1. What surprised us the most about ourselves during this process?
2. Which week or concept hit the hardest—and why?
3. What are we still struggling with, even after 12 weeks?
4. How has our creative process or identity changed since starting?
5. And if we could give one piece of advice to our Week 1 selves… what would we say?

Come celebrate with us! Reflect with us! And stay tuned for WHAT'S NEXT! 

Because we’re definitely doing it again.

We love you. 

💛💜💛💜💛💜

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

It’s Week 12! The final chapter! WHATT! 

We’re asking the big questions and, as usual, bringing zero answers. What are we even working for? What are we hurrying toward? And seriously… what’s so bad about this moment, right now? Can you ever really arrive—or, oh no, is the journey literally… the whole thing? What happens when we’re just okay with where we are? Are we allowed to do that?

We also wonder: what if your creativity doesn’t have to make money? What if it’s just… SO FUN? What if you could enjoy it without turning it into a product? 

Julia Cameron hits us with the line of the week: “You are either losing your mind or gaining your soul.” COOL COOL COOL.

We try to untangle that, remind ourselves that life is meant to be an artist date, and ask the realest question: can we actually have that?

It’s Anna and Sarah warning you to watch out for the Wet Blanket Mommies and Move at the Pace of Pleasure, friends. Happy 4th of July! 

We love you! 

💛💜💛💜💛💜

Dutch Bar: a cool place for an artist date! 

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

It's Week 11 WHAT?!?!?!

This week, we’re breaking free and asking: what is creative autonomy, actually? Does cutting yourself off from creativity turn you into some kind of wild, feral creature? (Maybe.) How do you get all the things done without strangling your creative spirit in the process? Do you even know your artist temperament? And once you figure it out, how do you support it so you’re not just… miserable all the time?

Anna pushes back on the ways she’s domesticated herself while chasing her goals—it’s too hard to follow all the rules. We wonder if it’s actually responsibility that kills playfulness for adults, and if play is the way back. What if creativity was its own reward, instead of always being about the end result?

Sarah reminds us that creativity is free. She also questions whether she even likes fun (relatable). Because seriously: if your life is dull, your art probably will be too. Maybe try leaving your house? Just a thought.

We also wonder: what if you redefined success to only count the things you can actually control? What if creativity really is the reward? We talk about being in our bodies, not torturing ourselves, and—once again—remind you to just build the artist altar already. Geez.

Let’s un-domesticate!

💛💜💛💜💛💜

References: 

Balls Cabaret: Sundays 2-4pm at Strike Theater  

824 18th Ave NE
​Minneapolis, MN 55418

Strongly-Worded Design by Jessica

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

This week: spiritual perils, creative blocks, and the wild idea that maybe… we don’t have to strain so hard??

Can you actually be an artist without the suffering and the constant striving? Apparently that’s the goal. Why do we feel like if we’re not straining, we’re not doing it right? What does self-protection around your creativity look like, and how do you make it about the journey instead of chasing the next gold star?

We’re talking creative blocks—yours, ours, everyone’s—and how they sneak into our lives dressed as necessary distractions. Anna gets into alcohol, people-pleasing, and how both get in the way of quieting down enough to actually create. Sarah wonders if she’s a workaholic (lol same) and asks whether her desire for deep, true partnership is actually narrowing the straw of her creativity.

We also spiral on the impossible question: can you really protect your creative life from all the chaos of the outside world? Or is that just a cute idea we tell ourselves? Then Julie Cameron herself (okay, through the book) comes in hot and spicy with this truth bomb: “If you don’t have time for Morning Pages, maybe you don’t have time for a creative life.” RUDE.

Also, we build a fort. And we try to convince you—again—to just do the Morning Pages.

What’s the main point? Show up. That’s it. Just keep showing up.

We love you! 

💛💜💛💜💛💜

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

This week, we’re talking U-turns, and asking the big question: Are you lazy, or are you just blocked? Because spoiler alert—it’s not always easy to tell. We dig into whether your so-called laziness is actually just fear in a really good disguise. We’re also getting real about fame culture and whether it’s secretly ruining your life. Is it possible that not feeling your feelings is what’s keeping you creatively blocked? And what if jealousy is less of an emotion and more of a neon sign flashing, “PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR OWN STUFF”?

We also wonder: What if you stopped trying to make perfect art and just made art? Would the world end? Could the cure for fear actually be love? (How?!) What’s your relationship with discipline—is it a helpful tool or just another stick to beat yourself with? And could curating your creative space for your artist child actually change everything? Also, enthusiasm? How do? 

Anna and Sarah lean into their own creative U-turns, confess how they got turned around, and try to figure out what it takes to get moving in the right direction again. Spoiler: it’s not clean-cut for artists, and it’s definitely not a straight line. But hey, when is it ever? 

Grab a snack and let’s go!

💛💜💛💜💛💜

References: 

Sarah Bonneville featured on The Current's Scouting Report 

Leila Hormozi 

Anne Clark of St. Vincent

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

How do you even podcast?! We’re officially releasing episodes and recording AT THE SAME TIME! Anna spirals (hello, self-awareness overload) but also shares how wild and powerful it’s been to listen to yourself learn in real time. It’s cringey! It’s growth! It’s both!

This week is packed with big, juicy questions:

🧠 Is understanding something intellectually different from understanding it emotionally?

🔥 Can you metabolize pain into energy? (Excuse us??)

🛠️ Is pain just your system screaming, “FIX THIS”?

We also get into the realness of studying art at school. Does it help? Does it mess you up? Can you grade creativity? Is imagination actually more important than knowledge?

Plus: what happens when your creative project becomes a product? What if your process is the most sacred part—and not the outcome?

And the kicker: what if the goals you create for your creative life should aim at your definition of success, not the world’s shiny, hollow version?

Big questions, lots of heart, zero clean answers—but we’re in it. Let’s go!!!

💛💜💛💜💛💜

References: 

Balls Cabaret: Sundays 2-4pm at Strike Theater  

824 18th Ave NE
​Minneapolis, MN 55418

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

It’s Week 7! This chapter hit us with a big one: “Art is not about thinking something up, it’s about getting something down.” Um… WHAT. You mean no straining? Just ease? Openness? Receptivity?!

Okay but… how do you actually do that? Is it a mindset? A lifestyle? Can you really just show up and make the thing, or are we all too tangled in our own perfectionism to even start?

This week, we wrestle with:

— Whether or not limits actually help

— If the universe cares and gives us what we need (???)

— The radical idea of actually expecting good things to happen

— And why making mistakes feels so impossible when perfectionism is running the show

Anna comes face to face with her “no mistakes allowed” policy, while Sarah gently reminds us (and herself) that doing your best doesn’t mean doing it perfectly—and maybe that is enough. She also admits her deep fear of looking stupid, and honestly? Same.

Do we have answers? Not really. But we do have questions. And messy progress. And a lot of trying. Because at the end of the day, you just have to do the thing.

Enjoy the episode!

💛💜💛💜💛💜

References: 

Rick Rubin

Cathy Heller 

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

Welcome to another week of Yes Ma’am Pod! 

Surprise—there’s no chapter this week. 

Instead, we bring you what we’re officially calling an interlude. You know, that moment when life completely takes over (hello, holidays) and your creative project gets sidelined by the chaos of being a human.

We could’ve kept this part of our journey creating this podcast quiet and pretended we were right on track, but we believe in honesty. And the truth is: every creative journey includes an interlude. It’s not a matter of if—it’s when.

So what exactly is an interlude, and how do you get through one without completely losing momentum? How do you come back to your work when it’s been dropped for a minute (or many)?

This is our most practical episode yet, full of tools, real talk, and gentle encouragement—so grab a notebook, give yourself some grace, and enjoy the show.

💛💜💛💜💛💜

References: 

Martha Stewart Documentary Trailer 

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

It’s Week 6, and yes—we’re talking about money. Again. Because it turns out, money is kind of a big deal. It’s a constant consideration, a major stressor, and, let’s be honest, a very convenient excuse to stay creatively blocked. In this episode, Anna and Sarah unpack their personal money systems and ask some real questions: How does the way we think about money control our creative lives? How is our sense of worthiness tangled up in what we believe we deserve financially? What even is a “little luxury,” and how do we tell the difference between what we actually want and what marketing tells us we need to not be sad? We also explore what would happen if we treated money with intention and attention, instead of fear and avoidance.

Then things get philosophical: why do we associate difficulty with virtue, and where did we get the idea that art is “just fooling around”? (Spoiler: it’s not.) Plus, a public service announcement—watch out for blocked people. They’ll cut you!

We have so much fun this week, even while confronting all the messy stuff, and ultimately we land in a place of encouragement: stay in your body, stay in the flow state, and keep showing up. We love you.

💛💜💛💜💛💜

References: 

Profit First  by Mike Michalowicz

Blue Door Pub

Selling Sunset (for an example of Fake Luxury) 

Landman (Watch It!) 

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!

Welcome to Week 5, folks. Buckle up, this one’s a long one. 🏎️💨 

This chapter had us going wait. like. what?! on repeat. Real talk: God has a LOT of money. Like, unlimited? 

We dive headfirst into the deep end of God, spirituality, and organized religion and ask: Are they the same thing? (spoiler alert: they are NOT). How do we, as artists in recovery, reclaim a spirituality that supports us without dragging along the baggage of human-organized religion? And is a personal spiritual connection the only real path to intimacy with others?

We get real about the fear of abandonment and how it affects literally every single choice we make, all the time, forever. 😵‍💫 Anna attempts to speak Gen Z (send help), while Sarah lives in a van down by the river and teaches us how happiness can exist independent of all things. 🚐✨ WHAT!

Anna has a full-on Kevin McCallister moment and hides under the bed after her creativity actually shows up! Sarah wonders if expecting your art to pay for your food and roof is even a good idea (yikes). We also break down the difference between possible vs. probable when it comes to how we view our creative projects, wrestle with how to be a good human to the people who are relying on you while still doing your own thing, and, most importantly…

🚨 Just freaking buy the ticket, yo. 🎟️

💛💜💛💜💛💜

Authors & books & references: 

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Deborah Keenan: poet

Norwegian Slow TV 

Van Down by The River SNL Skit

Tommy Boy

"Can't Remember the Taste of Strawberries" Lord of The Rings

Support the show

Thank you so much to MPLSART.com for sponsoring this show! Exhibitions, writing, resources, and more from the Twin Cities visual arts scene: https://www.mplsart.com/

@yesmaampod

We love you!